TV Listings for Android is an app that provides listings for all of the major channels, over 12,000 in total. In short it lets users see whats on TV right now, and it also lets them filter any movies or sports events that are running. It’s an app people keep on their phones and use frequently…they have a user retention (defined as a user having downloaded the app and used it in the last seven days) of about 35% and approx. 50% of users start the app more than once a day!

The Stats:

Total Downloads: 300,000

Monthly Unique Users (May 2010): 100,000

We interviewed creator Tomas Mazowski, check out what he has to say…

1) What inspired you to build the app?

We felt that the smart phone app business was going to get BIG when we first saw the iPhone. We wanted to build something and be part of it… but what should we build? There were a lot of iFart / Flashlight type apps out there and we saw a need for an app that would make people’s everyday lives easier and save them a lot of time. Since we both watch a lot of TV, a TV guide application seemed like the perfect candidate! Many late night coding sessions later we had the first version of our app ready… and the rest is history, as they say

2) Why does the ad revenue model make sense for you?

The ad revenue model fits us perfectly since TV listings is something you come back to time and again and spend a lot of time browsing. We have a very high user retention rate and long sessions on avg during which we can serve quite a few ad impressions. It also means we need to show many different ads from different networks to prevent users from getting bored and keep CTRs up – but that’s where Mobclix comes in.

3) Why did you choose Mobclix?

We tried different mediators but eventually chose Mobclix because they were (1) free, (2) have a very good Android SDK and (3) have truly excellent support (I can’t stress this last point enough). Also, since we don’t want to spend every waking hour looking at real time ad revenue stats, we really appreciate the automatic optimization feature that switches your inventory to whichever network that runs the best campaigns at the moment.

4) What tips do you have for other developers?

Once you decide to go down the ad supported road, our best piece of advice is to think “free” and “dynamic” from the start. When we first launched, we included only one ad network and had to release updates whenever we wanted to try a different ad partner. We ended up having money on a bunch of different sites and had a hard time compiling reports and getting an overview of how we were doing. With a mediator like Mobclix you get everything in one place: reports, payouts and the option to switch ad networks without posting any updates.

See What People
Are Saying

“T-Mobile was able to delight customers with a fun game that could work across virtually any phone, with Velti making it possible. Velti was great to work with & their commitment to the success of the program was excellent.”
- Chad Hodge, T-Mobile USA

“The thing I love about Mobclix is its simplicity--sign up & you have instant access to over 35 ad networks. Not only that, but I’ve already seen a 400% increase in revenue from March, and 12M impressions a week!”
- Alex Keim, Creator of Pic Stitch, Big Blue Clip

"Mobclix greatly helps manage & control the quality of our ads, and as a result, our Fruit Ninja app made over $400,000 in April 2012 alone off of ad-network sales."
- Jared Oats, Advertising Manager, Halfbrick

“TinyCo is thrilled to be working with the Velti Exchange—we’ve seen great results from the campaigns we’ve run so far and are excited about the future of our relationship!”
- Growth & User Acquisition Team, Tinyco

“We strongly believe that mobile marketing and advertising is here and we have already taken the first successful steps in partnering with Velti in this new era for the mobile industry.”
- MTC Russia

“Velti has shown consistent respect for policies and procedures, in addition to designing and implementing the campaigns. We look forward to continuing this fruitful cooperation in the future.”
- MBC Group